318 H. G. Baverty —The Mihrdu of Sind and its Tributaries. [Ex. No. 
The Wihat, Biiiat, or ancient Bedasta. 
The Wihat, Bihat, or Bedasta, constituted one of the seven rivers 
pp. 297 to 302. The opinion of Mr. Crow, who was for many years stationed at 
Thathah (not “ Tatta”) is the only one nearly correct. 
Abu-1-Fazl was the first to make a blunder on this subject in stating thafc 
Thathah was Debal, and, after the same fashion, telling us that Bakhar was 
“ Mausurah,” which it was not: its site is one hundred and twenty-one miles 
south of Bakhar. These errors are the more unaccountable seeing that he described 
the ruins of Bahman-abad correctly (see note 105), page 196 and must have 
known that Thathah was not founded for some centuries after the conquest of 
Sind by the ’Arabs. Bambhurah cannot possibly be Debal of the ’Arabs for the 
reasons given at page 224, and as also shown in the map from the “ Masalik wo 
Mamalik” at page 213. 
Cunningham has also gone astray with regard to the position of Debal or 
Dcwal. In his “ Ancient India,” p. 279, after “identifying Haidarabad as Nirun- 
Jfcof,” he says, “ Abulfeda [Abu-l-Fida ?] makes it 25 farsangs from Debal. * * # 
Lari bandar I will presently show to have been the most probable position of the 
ancient Debal.” 
I may mention, however, enpassant, that Bu Rihansays Lari Bandar—Loharanf— 
was twelve farsaJchs from Debal. See also Elliot, Yol. I, pp. 65—66. 
At page 297 of his work Cunningham says : “ The position of the celebrated 
port of Debal , the emporium of the Indus during the middle ages, is still un¬ 
settled. By Abul Fazl and the later Muhammadan writers, Debal has been con¬ 
founded with Thatha; but as Debal was no longer in existence [indeed !] when 
they wrote, I conclude that they were misled by the name of Debal Thatha, which is 
frequently applied to Thatha itself. Similarly, Brdhmana, or Brdhmandbdd , was called 
Debal Kangra [?], and the famous seaport of Debal was named Debal Sindi. But 
Dixval [sic.] or Debal, means simply a temple, and therefore Debal Sindi means the 
temple at or near the town of Sindhi. Burton says that the shawls of Thatha are 
still called Shal-i-Debali, but this only proves that Debal was the place where the 
merchants procured the Thatha shawls.” 
I may mention, however, that silken cloth or fabric of various colours, brocade, 
is called debd in the Persian language, and that debd-i is its adjective, but the noun 
is certainly not derived from Debal or Dewal, because debd, is a purely Persian word, 
and the place was so called on account of its great budh or temple. See page 231. 
Cunningham then quotes Hamilton’s “ New Account of the East Indies,” I. 130, 
who is understood to say, that “the river Sindhi ” is only a small branch of the 
Indus, which appellation is now lost in the country [?] which it so plentifully waters 
and is called Divellee, or Seven months,” and he adds : “ This statement shows [?] 
that the branch of the Indus leading up to Lari bandar was called Debali or the 
river of Debal, etc. # # * That this was the Piti branch of the Indus I infer 
from its other name of Sindhi, which I take to be the same as Sinthon Ostium of 
Ptolemy, or the second mouth of the river from the west.” From this we are 
supposed to understand that the “ Piti ” mouth of the Indus existed much the 
same in Plotemy’s time as now, and that Sindhi means second ! 
After saying at page 279, that he is going to “identify” it (Debal) as “ Lari 
bandar,” in another place he tells us, that, “ if Debal cannot be identified with either 
Karachi or Lari bandar, it must be looked for somewhere between them.” 
